Wal-Mart stores, Supercenters and Sam's Clubs across Minnesota will recycle compact fluorescent light bulbs free of charge on Saturday, part of a campaign to encourage consumers to buy, use and then recycle the bulbs.
Compact fluorescent bulbs can save huge amounts of energy, reduce global warming greenhouse gasses and save con-sumers money on electric bills. But they also contain a small amount of toxic mercury that must be recycled or it will add to the buildup of mercury in the environment.
Wal-Mart's stores will accept the bulbs on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's the first major recycling event for the bulbs offered by a retail company.
The bulbs also can be recycled on any day the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District's Household Hazardous Waste center is open, also free of charge.
A new Minnesota law that requires consumers to recycle compact fluorescent bulbs takes effect Jan. 1. The law also re-quires manufacturers and retailers to tell consumers that the bulbs must be recycled.
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Even with a small amount of mercury inside, the overall mercury load of the bulbs is lower than traditional incandescent bulbs because less coal is burned to generate electricity for same amount of light.
Wal-Mart officials Monday said they are hoping to sell 100 million compact fluorescent bulbs by 2008 to help cut energy use. It's estimated that each traditional incandescent bulb that's replaced saves 110 pounds of coal from being burned and prevents 450 pounds of greenhouse gasses.
Wal-Mart says consumers will recoup the higher cost for compact fluorescent bulbs within six months and that each bulb will save about $30 over the lifetime of the bulb.
Waste Management, Inc. will be recycling the bulbs for Wal-Mart which is the world's largest retail chain.
